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Transcript

Work experience curtailed

AM Archive - Tuesday, 21 May , 2002 00:00:00

Reporter: John Stewart

LINDA MOTTRAM: Thousands of students at Catholic schools across Australia are the latest to feel the impact of the public liability insurance crisis as schools move to shut down work experience programs because of unaffordable, associated insurance costs.

Parents who want their children to take part in work experience will now have to pay the insurance bill themselves though it's not yet clear how expensive that'll be.

John Stewart reports.

JOHN STEWART: In recent months public liability insurance costs have been soaring at non-government schools throughout Australia.

Terry Chapman from the Independent Schools Association says that some schools have already cancelled work experience programs.

TERRY CHAPMAN: There are quite a number of non-government schools that do not provide work experience any more but there are other schools that have taken on a different classification called workplace training which is part of a higher school certificate course.

JOHN STEWART: But for work experience for year 10 students, potentially how many students throughout Australia could be affected by this?

TERRY CHAPMAN: I really donít have a figure on that but there are about 110,000 children in the independent sector and about twice that number in the Catholic sector in New South Wales and certainly the cost of public risk insurance for workplace experience is now, I believe, so high that it would take a very significant lifting of the priority for a school to continue with it.

JOHN STEWART: Has there been any discussion about whether or not parents will be able to pay so their children can do work experience?

TERRY CHAPMAN: That, in the independent sector, will be a matter for each individual school but yes that is a possibility but I must say that whether it's the parents paying or the school paying doesnít reduce the problem, it only shifts the problem and it would be a pity if only those who can afford the insurance would be able to have their children undertake the activity if they want them to undertake that activity.

So what I'm saying is shifting the cost to the parents may be a short term measure but it would be very unfortunate if we can't get the insurance costs under control so that all students can undertake that experience.

JOHN STEWART: Employers First Chief Executive, Garry Brack says that employers won't take on students who are not insured.

GARRY BRACK: Well I donít think employers are going to seek to inherit any additional risk and that's a problem for employers.

We're talking here about the liability of those who are doing the organising and schools pick up that tab at the moment but there is a burden for them and employers I donít think will be in the business of picking up that additional exposure.

They've already got enough trouble themselves with workers compensation and other kinds of insurance risks that they carry themselves including in the public liability field.

LINDA MOTTRAM: Garry Brack from Employers First speaking to John Stewart.